Decoy mounting stakes for mounting hollow bodied animal species decoys, such as wild female turkey decoys, and which include a ground mounting stake and means for mounting an animal species decoy thereto for rotating movement of the decoy relative to the stake in response to natural, manual or mechanical applied force are well known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,912-Jirele. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,459,958 and 4,965,953-McKinney disclose a ground mounting stake for supporting a hollow animal species decoy including mechanisms which, via use of a remotely operated activator line, imparts vertical or feeding movement to the decoy. Other decoy movement systems employ wind to cause the desired decoy movement. However, experience has shown that wind movement decoys are unreliable, only moving a decoy about 20% of the time.
One well known and reasonably effective decoy system for mounting and imparting movement to hollow hen turkey decoys, which has been marketed for several years via the Internet, comprises a ground mounting stake including upper and lower sections interconnected via a vertical return spring. A rotation return spring extends longitudinally along the upper section from a point near its top. A monofilament line attached to the bottom of the return spring extends around a rivet pin protruding from the upper section at a point spaced from the top of the vertical return spring and attaches to a formed wire which has one end surrounding the upper section and the other end extending generally outwardly from the upper section for connection to the underside of the decoy. Desirably the formed wire, at the end surrounding the upper section, includes a first loop around the upper section above the protruding rivet pin, a portion extending downward from the first loop parallel to the upper section past the rivet pin and a second loop around the upper section below the protruding rivet. In this manner, as will be seen from the description of its operation hereinafter, the downwardly extending portion of the formed wire engages the protruding rivet at some point in the rotation of the formed wire about the upper section to stop rotation of the decoy.
In use, the upper section of the stake is inserted into the underside of a hollow decoy until the decoy contacts and is attached to the outwardly extending portion of the formed wire, at which point the decoy is attached to the top of the stake via a push pin or screw. A separate control line encircles the neck of the decoy, extends to a ground mounted hook screw, which is positioned under the tail of the decoy and laterally offset from the rest position of the decoy toward the decoy operator, and extends from the hook screw to a spool which can be operated to increase or decrease tension in the control line encircling the decoy's neck. Initially, there is no tension in the control line and the decoy is in its rest position. As the spool is rotated counterclockwise by the decoy operator the control line is wound upon the spool, slides through the hook screw and pulls the neck of the decoy, causing a counterclockwise rotation of the decoy. Inasmuch as the formed wire is attached to the underside of the decoy, the formed wire also rotates counterclockwise, causing the monofilament to which it is attached to pull and stretch the rotation return spring. One rotation of the spool will cause a 180° rotation of the decoy. Continued rotation of the spool causes a vertical dipping or feeding motion of the decoy as the head of the decoy is pulled toward the hook screw. This vertical motion of the decoy is permitted by the vertical return spring, which interconnects the upper and lower sections of the shaft. The vertical dipping or feeding motion places the vertical return spring under spring tension and the 180° rotation places the rotation return spring under spring tension. Operation of the spool in a clockwise direction causes the decoy to first move vertically into its 180° rotated position and then to return to its rest position, in which the downward extending portion of the formed wire engages the rivet to stop rotational motion of the decoy.
This previously marketed decoy system for imparting rotational and vertical feeding motion to an attached decoy has the shortcoming that due to its configuration, the decoy frequently bends into the vertical feeding position before the 180° rotation of the decoy is completed. Thus, an important feature of the decoy system is compromised in that the decoy operator no longer has full control over the orientation of the decoy. There exists a need for an improvement to this previously marketed device to implement its intended manner of functioning.